I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 4 Chapter 7.2

Anyone observant would have noticed it. Yes, it was Eric. He was unwittingly the source of the ill fate that had befallen Nina.

“I never imagined that individuals with monotheistic beliefs were hiding among the close aides of the Holy King, who is the leader of the polytheistic faction.”

Count Czipos held a disdain for beastmen. While the Czipos family traditionally aligned with the polytheistic faction, he himself had an intolerant nature towards other races.

This had been investigated by Shion and the others. Since Count Czipos took over as the head of the family, they hadn’t employed any beastmen servants, and his disdain for beastmen was confirmed through his diary entries. Although they couldn’t find solid evidence until the last moment, they did a great job in the end.

Contradictions between a family’s ideology and an individual’s beliefs weren’t uncommon. In most cases, efforts were made to reconcile these differences for the sake of harmony.

However, an unfortunate event occurred. His son, Eric, took an interest in the beastwoman, Nina.

Eric had said that he wanted to engage with Nina as his fiancée shortly after meeting her and appealed to his parents about it.

At that time, Count Czipos’ state of mind was likely far from calm. After all, his heir was expressing a desire to marry a beastwoman he despised.

Presumably, during this internal conflict, he became vulnerable, and the witch exploited that vulnerability. It’s unclear exactly how she influenced him, but Count Czipos and the witch formed a cooperative relationship with the goal of eliminating Nina.

“You were behind the civil war in the Galbouda region, weren’t you? Even if the monotheistic faction had been scheming for a long time, it seemed unnatural for the polytheistic faction to be so defeated. However, if there were traitors within your ranks, that would explain it.”

I couldn’t imagine going to such lengths out of hatred for Nina, but surely the curses amplified his negative emotions. Curses were things that unraveled one’s sanity the more they were used.

The kidnapping of academy students and the large-scale purchase of slaves were likely a result of this influence. He was willing to take risks just to harm beastmen. I could predict that such desires were beyond his control.

In fact, the Count’s eyes at this moment were drowning in madness. Though it might seem like he was still in his right mind, his rationality was hanging by a thread. His sanity was like a fragile sheet of paper.

He had hidden it well until now. Up until our swords clashed, I had been completely deceived. He had managed to conceal any traces of the curses, and he might even possess tools for concealment.

“Tch.”

With a click of his tongue, Count Czipos disengaged from our deadlock. He quickly took a step back and distanced himself, remaining wary.

“Despite understanding all of this, why did you let it go on until today? As someone as skilled as Count Foranada, couldn’t you have attacked much earlier?”

“It was just about ensuring certainty.”

As he stated, once he had gained certainty, he could have acted immediately. However, considering our previous encounter where an unknown magic allowed the target to escape, infiltrating the enemy’s territory posed a high risk. Setting a trap and lying in wait offered a higher chance of capture. Given his unwavering determination to kill Nina, the possibility of him disappearing was low as well.

Upon hearing my opinion, Count Czipos sneered.

“Is that so? I believe even you won’t be able to stop the teleportation magic granted to the Western witch.”

Saying that, he disappeared into the shadows.